


A Time For Every Purpose

by TheBugGuy



Series: John Lane [12]
Category: Daria (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-18
Updated: 2013-09-18
Packaged: 2017-12-26 22:19:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBugGuy/pseuds/TheBugGuy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is temporarily evicted from his room to a sofa to make space for Jake and Helen's old hippie commune friends, Coyote and Willow Yeager. With nowhere to run, John and Daria must prepare for a weekend of good vibes and two annoyed cats.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Time For Every Purpose

 

Disclaimer: Daria and associated characters are owned by MTV. This is fan fiction written for entertainment only. No money or other negotiable currency or goods have been exchanged.

This is the twelfth John Lane story

 

Richard Lobinske

 

**A Time for Every Purpose**   


 

John Lane set his easel and painting supplies in one corner of the Morgendorffer living room, next to a haphazard pile of bedding and two sleeping cats. "Last in, first out."

Daria placed two boxes of painting supplies next to the easel. "It's only for the weekend and then you get your room back."

John smirked, "At least we Lanes have the good sense to put sleeping bags in the garage for our guests."

"Considering what you said lived in your old garage, I bet they didn't come back."

"Like I said, we Lanes have good sense."

Casually dressed, Helen Morgendorffer rushed down the steps and opened the door to the small understairs closet.

John asked, "Did your mother inject too much coffee this morning?"

"Either that, or she added No-Doze to it," Daria replied.

"There it is!" Helen called and withdrew from the closet, holding a stepstool that she carried into the kitchen.

Daria and John looked at each other while several bumps and thumps came from the kitchen. Curious, they went over and saw Helen standing on the stool, rummaging in one of the rarely-opened overhead cabinets.

Daria asked, "Still looking for the daughter we misplaced during our move here?"

Helen brightly said as she pulled a bread-making machine from the cabinet, "I'm going to make some bread, Daria."

John said, "That doesn't look like a printing press."

Helen gave him a faux-frustrated glare. "I can't serve the Yeagers store-bought bread this weekend."

Daria asked, "Why do they get such special treatment? You served Grandma store-bought bread the last time we saw her."

"I haven't seen Coyote and Willow for twenty five years, and let's just say they know a different Helen." Helen stopped and sighed, "A Helen famous for her oatmeal pumpkin seed loaf."

John cocked his thumb at the cabinet, "Or is that Helen the one you were looking for up there?"

When Helen heard a tinny car horn outside, she quickly said while adjusting her hair, "That must be the Yeagers! I hope they don't think I've changed too much."

Daria leaned against the counter. "You've always told me, 'Just be yourself.'"

Helen muttered, "I could kick myself for that," as she rushed to the door.

John crossed his arms and looked at Daria, "You passed up a straight line?"

Daria stared dubiously at the bread machine. "Oatmeal pumpkin seed loaf?"

John stared at it too. "Kind of sounds like something your dad would try."

"John, never make that suggestion again."

Quinn yelled from near the front door, "Daria! John! Mom and Dad want you out here!"

John started walking. "I promise."

Daria followed him to where Quinn was waiting by the open door. Outside, a pale yellow Volkswagen Beetle was parked along the street and a couple about Jake and Helen's age was standing near the car, dressed as if they had never left the sixties. A German shepherd with a kerchief around its neck stood nearby, with Jake talking to it.

Quinn asked, "What kind of car is that?"

John said, "Something even more dangerous then Trent's blue bomb."

Straight faced, Daria said, "It's one of the Cars-That-Will-Not-Die."

Jake said to the dog, "Come here, boy! Don't you remember old Jake?"

The dog ignored him.

"Wait, that can't be Leary," Helen said in realization. "He'd be almost thirty by now!"

Willow said, "This is Leary number three."

John whispered to Daria, "Leary? Zachary and Taylor are not going to be happy."

Coyote told Helen, "We had to replace the original a couple times."

Laughing, Jake said, "Hey, Coyote, if only you could do that with Timothy Leary, huh, man?"

"They're working on it, man," Coyote solemnly said.

Helen grabbed Willow and pulled her to the doorway. "Willow, these three are irreplaceable. Our girls, Quinn and Daria, and our newest addition, John."

Willow reached out and held Daria's hands. After a moment of meditation, she said, "You have a very old soul."

"It just looks mature for its age," Daria said, slightly taken aback by Willows sudden physical contact.

Willow next grasped John's hands, saying, "You have the soul of Aquarius."

"Um, yeah," John mumbled. _Whatever that meant._

Quinn slipped behind Daria and John to avoid Willow's soul reading. Willow didn't make a fuss and went back to Jake and Helen.

Still hiding, Quinn asked, "Aren't they taking this retro thing too far?"

John tilted his head back and said, "We'll know if they light up a couple later."

Daria faintly smiled, "Let Mom explain that."

"Ewww," Quinn said in distaste. "That stuff smells awful."

John rolled his eyes, thinking about some of Mystik Spiral's 'brainstorming' sessions. "Tell me about it."

Daria whispered to Quinn, "And how do you know?"

"God, Daria. Anybody can smell what goes on behind the parking lot at school."

"Ethan!" Coyote called to the car. "Come meet everyone!"

A brown-haired teenage boy wearing a black t-shirt and loose jeans crawled out of the back of the VW.

Quinn pushed between Daria and John to sweetly say, "Hi, Ethan."

"You know," John said as an aside to Daria, "Those back seats are cramped. I bet he smells like the dog."

 

 

 

Basking in the warm sunlight coming through the large corner window of the living room, two tiger-striped tomcats contentedly snoozed. Zachary and Taylor were pleased with how attentive their new staff members were compared to the old. However, they were curious as to why the young male that had come with them had moved the big, three-legged stand and bedding downstairs, but not enough to interrupt a deserved morning nap.

Orange-haired Zachary lifted his head at the noise coming from the door and instantly stood with back hunched and fur raised at seeing Leary. Zachary's sharp hiss woke up his gray-haired brother, who added a hiss of his own at the offensive intruder.

John quickly stepped to the side, muttering, "Why couldn't you two sleep in the kitchen?" while crouching to intercept the cats.

Excited, Leary gave a cheerful bark and bounced past John toward the felines, eager to play.

"Dammit!" John sputtered as he charged after the dog.

"Oh, dear," Helen said, realizing what was about to happen.

Taylor reared up directly in front of Leary and swatted the dog's nose with both front paws. At the same time, Zachary leapt onto the dog's shoulder and raked down with his rear claws. Leary yelped and jumped back in fright. Zachary jumped off as the dog turned and ran back to Coyote and Willow.

John took advantage of the cats reveling in their victory to snatch both up and hold them tight, saying to them, "Hey, that wasn't Uncle Max."

"John…" Helen called for his attention.

"I know, I know," he said, already walking toward the door. "They're going into the garage."

Daria moved ahead of him into the kitchen to open the door into the walk-through laundry that led to the garage.

After Daria closed the door behind him, John set the disgruntled cats on the floor. "Sorry guys, but we can't have you beating up the guests."

Daria shook her head. "I wish we could get out of here. I don't know how many more good vibes I can stand."

"Yeah, but if someone doesn't stay around to watch these two, that poor dog is toast."

"Normally, I'd say survival of the fittest, but you know Mom would make us clean things up."

 

 

 

Seated in the dining room with everyone else, John said to Daria, "Wow, first time this room's been used for its intended purpose." He took a bite from his sandwich and found himself wishing for the cafeteria at Lawndale High. _Oatmeal pumpkin seed loaf with tofu patties, yuck._

Daria watched his reaction to the food and said back to him, "Only because we can't cram everyone around the kitchen table." Skilled from regular use, she palmed a small shaker bottle of mixed spices, sprinkled some over the puddle of peas on her plate and onto the sandwich.

Coyote explained to Jake, "So for the past twelve years, we've been selling hemp-fiber hammocks through the mail."

Daria quietly passed the spice bottle to John and said, "And I don't know if our digestive systems can handle the amount of fiber in this meal."

John hid his smirk, watching Jake feed part of his tofu to Leary as Willow said, "And with all the new breakthroughs with hemp processing, this could be out most exciting year yet."

Visibly bored, Helen said, "Oh, that's fascinating." She next asked, "Quinn, didn't you have a date tonight?"

Taking advantage of the attention on Quinn, John added the spices to his food.

Quinn shrugged, "I got Stacy to fill in."

Jake said to Ethan, "You know, John's on the track team. Are you into sports, Ethan?"

Looking less interested than Helen, Ethan swirled peas on his plate.

"I think that could be called a 'no,'" John said. "Which means he doesn't have to listen to someone like Ms. Morris scream."

Willow, possibly repulsed, said, "We think there's enough aggressive behavior on the planet without creating more with quote, unquote, healthy competition."

John laughed. "Healthy? You haven't seen Lawndale High sports."

Willow asked, "Then why?"

"I like to run." _And I don't have a choice, but maybe I can buy some brownie points with Mrs. Morgendorffer if I keep quiet about that._

"Ethan's gonna rock climb." Not getting a response from his son, Coyote added, "When he's ready."

John passed the spice bottle to Quinn.

Ethan mumbled, "Whatever." He looked in disgust at his plate.

Tasting her sandwich, Willow said, "You can always tell when bread isn't hand kneaded. Hand kneaded bread has more soul."

Quinn added the spices to her plate and passed the bottle back to John.

Daria looked at her sandwich and quietly said, "Sole is right, this must be what leather tastes like. Even the spices didn't help."

"This veggie stuff never fills me up." Jake stood and asked, "Anyone want a burger?"

Willow and Coyote glared at him with disapproval while Helen gazed on in frustration. John and Daria perked up at the mention of meat, Quinn continued hoping the whole situation was just over and Ethan, as far as anyone could tell, hadn't noticed.

Jake tried to recover by saying, "Hey, fair's fair. We'll all be worm food someday."

Helen admonished, "Jake!"

John felt the evil urge to say something and gave in to the temptation. "Whatever floats your boat. I'm having my body sent to a taxidermist and then put on permanent display as a final piece of nonperformance art."

Everyone turned to look at John.

Feigning innocence, he held up his hands, "What?"

Daria lightly pinched his arm and said, "We'll have to wait for Johnburgers until we fatten him up a little more, but Dad, I'll take a cowburger now."

Jake laughed at his daughter's joke and Willow nervously looked between the two of them.

"You know man, I'm getting some aggressive vibes around here," Coyote said.

Defensive, Jake said, "Are not!"

Willow said, "It must be all the meat."

Jake barked, "Is not!"

Willow sadly said, "What ever happened to that mellow, 'let it be,' attitude you used to have?"

All at the same time, Helen and John asked, "Jake?" while Daria and Quinn said, "Dad?"

 

 

 

Holding hands and sitting on the floor with their backs against her bed, Daria and John watched television. On the screen was a picture of two frogs as the announcer said, "A nightmare story of an enchanted kiss gone horribly wrong! When _Sick, Sad World_ returns."

As the commercial started, John said, "You could drop those two into the art colony Mom's living at and nobody would know the difference."

"The frogs or the Yeagers?"

"Hmm. Come to think of it, the frogs might be more welcome. Even artists will eat meat."

Daria poked him. "I meant as guests, not as snacks."

"Oooh."

"Smartass."

"At least that's one part of me that is."

After a short knock, Quinn pushed the door open a bit more and stuck her head in. "Hi. Can we join you?"

Sighing, Daria said, "I suppose you're fleeing the wonderful memories downstairs."

"They're talking about tailgating pentagrams and stuff. It's kind of creepy."

John said, "That gave me some interesting visuals for paintings."

Quinn entered and Ethan ambled in behind her.

He looked around and said, "Cool room."

Quinn looked askance at him. "Um, yeah."

Daria said, "Not everyone wants a pink paradise."

"Hope you don't mind _Sick, Sad World_ ," John said, motioning to the TV.

"We don't get cable. Actually, the only station on the dial that works is PBS," Ethan replied.

John raised an eyebrow, "Dial? As in, turn and click?"

"Yeah. Mom and Dad think that remotes make people lazy and fat."

Daria shrugged, "Okay, they have a point with that one."

"But finding tubes for it is getting to be a pain."

 

 

 

"Ommmmm."

"Ommmmm."

The strange noises broke into John's sleep. He rolled over on the sofa toward the sounds and opened his eyes. _Ugh.. Two upside-down, middle-aged butts in sweatpants was not what I wanted to see first thing in the morning._

In the center of the room, Coyote and Willow, legs folded into a full lotus position, were standing on their heads in mediation.

"Ommmmm."

"Ommmmm."

John tossed the blanket over the sofa back and got up, admitting that sleep would not return. Yawning, he walked around the sofa and noticed Helen in the kitchen, stirring some kind of batter in a bowl. She cleared her glare at the meditating guests upon noticing John.

He stumbled into the kitchen. "Please tell me you have coffee."

Helen slightly smiled, in a way reminiscent of Daria. "John, even old hippies need caffeine."

He pulled out a mug and filled it, dumping in extra sugar before heading to the jug of milk next to Helen. There, he splashed milk into the mug and took a long drink. "Ah."

Seeing Helen's aggressive stirring of the batter, he reached under the counter and brought up a bag of cat food. "I'll go take care of my cats."

Half-listening, Helen said, "Be careful; we wouldn't want them getting out and terrorizing poor Leary again."

John silently went into the garage, where he was met by disgruntled meows. He responded, "Hey, you two brought this onto yourselves. Don't complain."

He poured food into a pair of bowls and took another pair to a sink to fill them with fresh water. When he brought them back, he crouched and said, "But I think somebody wouldn't be upset if you accidentally got out."

 

 

 

Back in the kitchen, John could hear Jake say, "Good morning! Say goodbye to cookie-cutter-corporate Jake, he's long gone. Say hello to the new Jake; the old Jake you haven't seen for a while."

Helen turned, cocking a spoon full of batter like a catapult. "You didn't quit your job, did you?"

Jake walked around the corner, sporting overnight stubble on his face. "No, I'm growing a beard again."

Reassured and annoyed, Helen said, "Oh, that's great, dear."

John looked at the bowl. "Can I ask what that is?"

"It's for my barley, wheat and fig muffins."

_Okay, I'm starting to understand where Jake got some of his weird cooking ideas._

As Daria and Quinn entered the kitchen, Jake greeted them with a smile and, "Hey, girls! How do you like my new look?"

"Dad, are you growing a goatee?" Quinn rolled her eyes. "That's so two years ago."

"Try a little ten-ten-ten. That should make it grow faster," Daria quipped as she walked past everyone to John.

John gave her a fast, one-armed hug and a discreet kiss on the cheek. He whispered, "I'm not sure if we'll survive much more of this healthy food."

Daria looked at the batter-filled bowl and asked John, "What's that?"

"Another car on the fiber express."

"My intestines are jumping for joy."

Very mellow, Coyote and Willow jointed the rest in the kitchen. Coyote said, "I really feel centered now."

Willow noticed Jake's face and said, "Nice whiskers."

Jake grinned and replied, "Thanks!"

Quinn slipped back away from everyone. "It's kind of getting crowded here. Maybe Ethan and I could go somewhere for breakfast."

Curious, Daria asked, "Where is he?"

John went back to the living room, looked at one of the sofas and pointed with a finger. "Sleeping like Trent."

Quinn rushed over and stopped with her hands on her hips. "Ethan!"

He pulled the sheet down from over his head.

Quinn asked, "Wouldn't you like to take me out for breakfast?"

"Breakfast?" Ethan pulled the sheet back over his head. "Call me at lunch time."

Quinn let out a frustrated, "Oh!" before stalking away.

 

 

 

"Wow. Now I know why all those hippies went to those marches and protests," Daria drolly said while watching her father clumsily juggle two balls. "It was to break the boredom of the entertainment."

Standing in front of John and Daria in the living room and happy with his progress, Jake said, "Hey, it's coming back to me! Anybody want to try?"

Preparing to sit on another sofa, Helen reached down to move a displaced pillow. The soggy fabric caused instant revulsion that was reflected in her face. "Dog drool. That beast."

"Remind me not to sleep on that one tonight," John said in sympathy.

Holding the pillow by the corner, she set it aside and prepared to sit. Before she could, Leary bounded across the room and jumped, forcing her to sit. She angrily pushed him back and pointed to the door, "Outside!"

Daria answered the ringing telephone. "Hello? Oh, hi. Not right now, we have guests in town for the weekend. I'm sure. Okay, I'll tell her. Bye."

Helen asked, "Who was that?"

"That was Eric Schrecter. I told him you were busy with guests this weekend and he said to let you know that the hearing was moved up to this week."

Coyote and Willow were taken aback with Helen's outburst of "What!? This week!?"

Jake stopped juggling. "Talk about uptight."

Helen noticed her old friends and waved her hand. "Oh, nothing that can't wait until Monday. I never could understand how that man could lock himself in a cage on the weekend like that."

"I'm so glad you still have your priorities, Helen," Willow softly said.

Jake raised his fist. "Right on!"

Coyote waved a frisbee at Leary and said, "Who's up?"

Leary barked and grasped the disk in his mouth. Coyote and Willow turned and followed the playful dog outside with Jake close behind.

Out of earshot of the Yeagers, Daria whispered, "Mom, if you're gonna make us stay…"

Helen fought to keep from grabbing the telephone.

Daria added, "You know how Eric exaggerates things. I bet it can wait until Monday."

"You better be right," Helen said, still eyeing the phone.

"Besides, you know he emailed you all the gory details. You can stay up and deal with it after the Yeagers go to sleep."

Helen slyly smiled at Daria. "Got me." She picked up the soiled pillow using her fingertips and stood. "I better go put this in the laundry."

She went into the kitchen and John picked up the remote, turning on the TV. A few seconds later, motion caught John's eye and he saw the tip of a gray tail disappear under one of the other sofas.

Helen came back into the living room. "I'll be outside with everyone else."

John and Daria waved.

After she was gone, John looked at the remaining sofa, where Ethan lightly snored, and said, "I was right; he does sleep like Trent."

Ethan opened his eyes and said in a low tone, "Are they gone?"

"So, you are awake." Daria folded her arms.

"You'd have to be deaf or oblivious to sleep through that."

John said, "That's Trent. Well, tone-deaf, but definitely oblivious."

"I can't believe those two are the Jake and Helen that my folks have gone on about for years."

Daria perked up. "Oh?"

Ethan sat up. "Yeah. Helen was the super-feminist that burned a bra with a blowtorch."

Daria laughed. "That, I can believe."

"And Jake was the mellow militant ready to jump into any cause."

John said, "I'm still having a hard time with that mellow part."

Daria said, "I suspect it was herbally induced."

Ethan continued, "I mean, are those the two that spend a day in jail in Boulder for their naked protest of an auto mechanic?"

"Was this in August of 1969?"

"Have you heard it?"

"My Aunt Amy told me that they were arrested then, but didn't give any details. What in the world were they protesting an auto mechanic for?"

"They missed Woodstock waiting on parts for a Dodge Dart."

 

 

 

Daria called from the kitchen, "Go on, we'll stay here and do the dishes. Won't we, John?"

Stacking plates into the sink, John one-arm shrugged. "Sure."

"I've gotta track down that off and on miss in the car," Coyote said, "Coming with, Jake?"

"Sure, my man," Jake agreed.

Willow asked, "Oh, Quinn. Do you want to join Helen and me making a compost pile?"

Standing behind Willow, Helen rolled her eyes in dreaded anticipation.

"Thanks and all, but I think I'll stay here and help Daria and John do the dishes."

Still sitting at the table from lunch, Ethan muttered, "Eh, I might as well stay here and help, too."

"We'll be outside," Willow said and she followed Coyote and Jake out.

Helen folded her arms and said, "You're using the dishwasher, aren't you?"

"I didn't say how we were doing them," Daria said.

 

 

 

Belly just grazing the carpet, Taylor silently crept along the edge of the entertainment center. The tip of his tail twitched in anticipation. Along the wall edge from the kitchen, Zachary likewise stalked the sleeping dog nestled in the living room corner. Both froze when Leary made a noise in his throat and twitched his legs. After waiting several seconds to make sure the dog was still asleep, the cats restarted their advance.

About six feet away from Leary, the cats dashed ahead and jumped onto the dog's back, both letting out loud meows and scratching with all claws. Leary yelped and jumped to his feet, causing the cats to bounce away to guarded positions. Confused, Leary looked around and was swatted by each cat in turn. He bolted for the door and the cats followed him halfway before stopping and staring. Waiting for him to try to come back, they stood with backs arched and tails fluffed.

The teens, hearing the racket, rushed in from the kitchen, where they'd been talking.

Daria said, "I thought you put them in the garage?"

"I did," John said.

"Then how'd they get out?"

"Someone must've gone into the garage and not paid attention."

Ethan stepped into the living room. "However they got out, we better save Leary before he gets self-esteem issues again."

Daria and John locked eyes and laughed.

Quinn came up behind Ethan and said, "Don't ask. It's their special place."

Daria glared at Quinn's back.

John gently pulled on Daria. "I suppose we should go out and see if the adults are staying out of trouble."

Leary barked and ran outside as soon as Ethan opened the door.

Ethan stopped in surprise to hear his father say, "Man, can you teach me how to play golf?"

Daria and John filed out of the house in time to hear Jake say, "Sure I can, man."

Jake and Coyote were sitting on the front of the VW, drinking from some bottles. Coyote downed more and said, "And can we ride around on those little carts?"

Jake slapped Coyote's back and also took a drink. "Sure thing, pal!"

Smeared with mud and debris and disgusted, Willow and Helen walked around the house toward the VW.

Jake beamed widely when he noticed them and said, "Hey, is that some kind of organic nutrient body bath? Far out!"

Helen marched passed and grumbled, "We fell on our asses in a puddle of garbage. I feel like a hog."

Coyote looked at the women. "Hog? Oh, man. I'd love some bacon."

Willow snapped, "Oh, thanks so much for your concern!"

When they marched past, Daria placed her hand over John's mouth.

Jake saw the kids and said, "Hey, what's up?"

"Dog rescue," Daria replied.

Ethan sniffed Coyote's bottle. "Dad, the berry juice fermented again. You gotta watch that."

He motioned with his head, "Come on. Let's go get a slush cup."

Quinn moved up close. "It's about time!"

John said, "How about pizza instead?"

Ethan shrugged. "Whatever"

As they got to the sidewalk, Ethan asked, "Got any money?"

After staring at his distorted reflection in the recycled soda bottle used for the berry juice, Jake shouted, "Where's my razor?" and ran into the house.

Coyote looked at Jake, shrugged, and drained his bottle, quietly saying, "Of course it's fermented."

 

 

 

_The boy's a mutant. He sleeps like Trent and eats like Jesse._ John watched as Ethan single-handedly finished off a Scavenger Delight.

Quinn daintily ate her cheeseless slice while Daria and John had split a small pepperoni pizza.

"To cover themselves, Mom and Dad said that they were growing it for fiber and were shipped the wrong plants by mistake." Ethan shrugged and added, "What made it look good was that they really were making things from the fiber."

Daria smirked, "Dual use product?"

"You could say that. But, the bust made Mom and Dad switch over to growing the proper hemp, which actually has higher quality fibers. In the long run, it worked out better for them."

Not buying the story entirely, John asked, "So they switched, just like that?"

"Well…the probation officer coming by once or twice a month to check on what they were actually growing might have something to do with it."

"You know," Daria observed, "I bet they could sell a lot more if they went online with their hammocks."

 

 

 

Later in the evening, the four returned to the house to find the adults seated around the kitchen table, along with the remains of dinner.

Helen stood and firmly planted herself in front of them, hands on hips. "Children. We expected you for dinner. Before I officially ground all of you, would you care to account for your whereabouts?"

Daria shrugged. "Sure. But first, a few questions. Number one. Why did you spend a night in jail in Boulder in August, 1969?

Helen laughed, "Now where did you get such a silly idea?"

"From two independent sources. Can I call Aunt Amy about how much she wired for your bail?"

Helen blushed. "Oh, um…"

John looked at a piece of cardboard taped over a hole in the kitchen window. "Any idea of how this happened?"

"You see," Jake explained, "Coyote's stance was a little off, so he kept slicing."

John raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure the neighbors were thrilled with you teaching somebody to play golf in the back yard."

 

 

 

The next morning, everyone was gathered near the Yeager's car, where Leary was already waiting in the back seat. Willow fitted Helen's bread machine into the front trunk of the car and closed the lid.

Coyote shook Jake's hand. "Thanks for that marketing plan, man. We're going to kick the butts of those wimps over at Rainbow Hammocks."

Jake grinned. "Hey, take no prisoners, man. Predatory behavior is all natural."

Coyote rubbed his stomach and whispered to Jake, "Speaking of predatory, the bacon was good."

Willow hugged Helen. "Thanks for the bread machine. It's going to save me so much time." She moved closer and whispered, "So will the frozen bagels."

Ethan nodded to Daria. "Thanks for the website idea. Mom and Dad finally agreed to get a computer."

John chuckled. "Once we informed them that they didn't need paper-wasting punch cards."

Quinn demurely said, "Ethan…you never mentioned how cute I was."

"Oh, well, yeah. In a kind of superficial way, but you have potential."

Quinn smiled wide. "Thanks, Ethan."

"No compliment gets by you, does it?" Daria quipped.

Quinn turned and winked at Daria, "Of course not. I notice you never miss one from John."

Daria faintly blushed while the Yeager's squeezed into the car.

Amid a flurry of good-byes, they backed down the driveway and drove off.

Jake put his arms around Daria and John's shoulders. "You know, kids, it's pointless to try to turn back time. You have to live in the present."

"That's where I've tended to live," John said.

"Good one. Dammit! I'm gonna start right now. Starting by getting rid of all my vinyl records. Hey, Daria, John! You want 'em?"

Daria leaned back to look at John. "Think Trent would be interested?"

Inside the big corner window, Zachary and Taylor watched the amusing human antics before settling down to a nice, comfortable nap.

 

 

 

Dialog from:  
 _That Was Then, This is Dumb_  
By Anne D. Bernstein

 

Thanks to Kristen Bealer, Ipswichfan and Mr. Orange for beta reading.

November 2005.  



End file.
